Multi-threaded HTTP Server

A multi-threaded HTTP server built using socket programming in Python, demonstrating low-level networking concepts and HTTP protocol implementation.

Features

• Multi-threaded request handling with thread pool
• Binary file transfer support (PNG, JPEG, TXT files)
• HTML file serving with proper Content-Type headers
• JSON POST request processing
• HTTP/1.1 keep-alive connection support
• Path traversal protection and security features

Running the Server

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher

Start the Server

Basic usage (localhost:8080):

python3 server.py

Custom port:

python3 server.py 8000

Custom host and port:

python3 server.py 8000 0.0.0.0

Command Line Arguments

python3 server.py [port] [host] [max_threads]

• port: Port number (default: 8080)
• host: Host address (default: 127.0.0.1)
• max_threads: Maximum thread pool size (default: 10)

Project Structure

Socket-P/
├── server.py              # Main HTTP server implementation
├── resources/             # Web content directory
│   ├── index.html         # Home page
│   ├── about.html         # About page
│   ├── contact.html       # Contact page
│   ├── sample.txt         # Test text file
│   ├── logo.png          # PNG image
│   ├── photo.jpg         # JPEG image
│   └── uploads/          # Directory for POST uploads
└── README.md             # Documentation

Testing the Server

Access in Browser

Open your browser and navigate to:

• http://localhost:8080/ - Home page
• http://localhost:8080/about.html - About page
• http://localhost:8080/contact.html - Contact page

Test File Downloads

curl -O http://localhost:8080/sample.txt
curl -O http://localhost:8080/logo.png
curl -O http://localhost:8080/photo.jpg

Test JSON POST

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/upload \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "test", "message": "Hello World"}'

Security Features

• Path Traversal Protection: Blocks attempts to access files outside the resources directory
• Host Header Validation: Prevents host header injection attacks
• Request Size Limits: Prevents DoS attacks
• Input Validation: Validates JSON data and file paths